‘Queer Eye’ Drops New Orleans Season Trailer Featuring Local Sandwich Hero Dan Stein

Netflix has dropped a trailer for the soon-to-air seventh season of Emmy Award-winning series Queer Eye, filmed entirely in New Orleans, and among the local faces chosen to receive the show’s purported life-changing makeovers is the beloved proprietor of Stein’s Deli, Dan Stein.

Filmed in Summer 2022, Queer Eye star Bobby Berk called it the most intense season yet, mostly due to a hyper-condensed shooting schedule (and the New Orleans heat). Berk, who hosts the show alongside Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, and Tan France, says of New Orleans, “It’s almost like being in a different country, and I mean that in the best way.”

The enigmatic Stein was a popular nominee when the season 7 location was first announced last spring, quick to come to mind as a well-liked local food figure known for a savvy social media presence and his decades-old Jewish-Italian deli famed for its sandwiches. Season 7 of Queer Eye starts streaming on Netflix on May 12.

Chocolate Hubig’s Pies hit the market

Hubig’s has confirmed that limited quantities of chocolate Hubig’s Pies have hit shelves in New Orleans, about six months after the first two flavors, apple and lemon, returned to local grocery stores, gas stations, and coffee shops around town. It’s the third flavor to be re-released by the iconic hand pie brand since its grand revival; the company resumed production in late 2022 a decade after a five-alarm fire destroyed its Marigny factory. Hubig’s tells Eater that chocolate pies will begin being delivered to stores in greater quantities beginning Monday, May, 8, and will soon be available online as well. That leaves just the coconut, peach, and pineapple flavors remaining, not including former seasonal varieties like blueberry.

Jazz Fest debuts first-ever sober space

For the first time ever, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (April 28-30; May 4-7) has a dedicated sober space on the grounds: a swanky-looking, nicely furnished tent flanked by a mobile bar serving mocktails. The tent, billed as a space to “cool off, recharge, and enjoy alcohol-free cocktails in a relaxing environment” is happening in partnership with 1 Million Strong, an organization that has created sober spaces at festivals around the country. It’s located on the Gentilly Boulevard side of the Fair Grounds near the Kids Tent.

Glorious Esplanade Avenue patio gets new life in time for Jazz Fest

A new restaurant taking over a prized Jazz Fest-adjacent space opened this week, reports Mid-City Messenger. The Post Restaurant brings modern, family-friendly American food to a picturesque stretch of Esplanade Avenue known for its huge, tree-draped patio (formerly home to pizza restaurant Nonna Mia’s). Located at 3125 Esplanade Avenue, the Post will serve a limited menu of food and drinks during the two weeks of Jazz Fest, dishes like calamari, lobster and goat cheese salad, burgers, and an Italian sandwich, and host Clesi’s for crawfish on Jazz Fest days. Following Jazz Fest it will open daily for lunch and dinner with brunch on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.